From Sweden with love: the 1984 Saab 900 Turbo sedan...

It's time for a closer look at something I posted Instagram a couple weeks back.
A much closer look.. since the classic, lovable, blog-format welcomes the 40+ detail pics of a worn out old Saab with open arms..
..dozens of poorly-edited phone pics, taken in the rain..? Yes. Please. All of them.


But first, an Instagram-recap (and not entirely out of lazyness.. as cmon, it gets me warmed up...):

Softly spoken, a whisper: "turbo". Lower case. Uncapitalised. A gently nagging reminder via a tap on the shoulder, rather than the grab-by-the-collar-and-scream-in-the-face from Japanese manufacturers of the era. It's Saab, 1984, and a sad old 900 turbo at the wreckers on the weekend... #saab #saab900 #saab900turbo #900turbo #saabnation #turbo #1984

..and another look at the previous post's 1984 Saab 900 turbo sedan. I love getting the chance to play with these old things at the wreckers.. as they're just *so* different from what I'm used to. Nissan/Toyota/Honda/Mazda/whatever; things are all so (logically) similar.. regardless of how different they look, or the fact they're unrelated manufacturers. They just understandably go about things (engineering.. assembly..) the same way. Then I come across something like this, and it's just so.. odd. A clamshell bonnet that's weighted/sprung to slide forward and pivot up, doors that overlap where the sill would be, ignition barrel in the centre console, a clearly-labelled transparent fuse-box, the novelty-sized oil-cap.. the hinges.. the catches.. the way it's all held together; it's just different. Hell, the damn engine is mounted back-to-front! Satisfied curiosity making for a fun Saturday afternoon in the rain... #saab #saab900 #saab900turbo #900turbo #saabnation #turbo #1984

Everyone remember that Saab turbo I was posting about last week..? The one at the wreckers? Well you wouldn't think I'd be leaving *that* behind without a saabenir of some sort.. a little slice of 1980s-Sweden-does-turbo for my very own. SO.. cast aluminium, raised exceptionally-neat part number lettering, and raised.. unghf.. lowercase *turbo* lettering on the face; throw in the boost-pressure-brace-turned-kickstand on the end, and damn.. I'm in car-junk desk-ornament heaven! Besides.. everone needs a turbo crossover for a 1984 Saab 900 turbo, right!? Carefully wrapped in a 2007 Deakin University Annual Report found in the cars boot/trunk (it IS a Saab afterall; who'd you think would've owned it!), and carted home. Here it is cleaned within an inch of its now-pointless life, and ready for reassembly. Next up? A *pic* of it reassembled. Soon. Promise me you won't get too antsy with that imagination... #saab #saab900 #saab900turbo #900turbo #saabnation #turbo #1984

..bam! Surprised, yeah? Desk ornament of kings.. #saab #saab900 #saab900turbo #900turbo #saabnation #turbo #1984

..ahh, the nostalgia. Feels like it's June 2016 all over again..




 
But moving on to the task at hand...

..with most of the fun spoiled in the recap posts above, please bear with me for a touch of repetition:

June 1984 Saab 900 Turbo sedan.
6-or-so years into the 1st generation Saab 900's 15-year production run. These were the replacement for the 99, and had been available (as of 1984) as a 3dr hatch, 5dr hatch, and as here.. a 4dr sedan. A top of the line turbo sedan like this hit the market sometime early 1981 (the hatch being a year or two prior to this).. with this grille identifying it as a late-83-onwards model. Australian-new, this turbo sedan was over $30,000 in 1984...
 

Saab's APC system - the Automatic Performance Control - a knock sensor and boost control combination introduced on these engines in 1982...

The boot/truck crowbar'd open by the looks of it. The small rubber lip-spoiler already gone, and now supposedly on an R31....

Confirming the stereotype. A broad brush paints an ugly picture.. but this IS why people generalize. It just saves time...

 Trigger door-handles...

Light metallic blue on a dark red. Such a sharp combination...

...as I mentioned in one of the original Instagram posts above; see the door-seals on the door? The lack of sill? The style of hinges? It's all just so interesting to me after years of working on Japanese and Australian vehicles. The way anything and everything is done is just.. different...

Tyre placard for some deceptively-skinny 15's, and the riveted door hinges...

...shhh... 'turbo'. A relentlessly casual mention....

turbo/APC gauge on the 220kmh cluster...

Large, strangely-open, felt-lined cubbies in the front of the console...

Selector for the standard three-speed automatic.. complete with top-mounted release button, and furry brush in the selector gate. A 5spd manual was optional....

The console from above, showing the centrally-mounted power window switches; that accordion boot between the two console sections; and the ignition switch.
..yes, right there in the console..
..yes, underneath the handbrake lever..

 Doughy dark-red leather seats, with matching rose-coloured door inserts.. and extensive plush carpeting. Seriously, scroll up to the pics above again - it looks luscious...

 Shame the original radio has gone out for lunch; but otherwise a fantastic representation of Saab 1984, from a worn-but-original example...

Those 15's mentioned on the tyre placard shot above. That's a good looking wheel, and I love the somewhat-pointless cap held in place by the nuts...

The large clamshell bonnet/hood pops up at the front, slides forward, then tilts dramatically...

..revealing the two-litre, eight-valve, turbo four. un-intercooled, reverse mounted, and driving the front wheels from a gearbox at the headlight-end. It's all a bit of fun...

....at the very least the oil cap is impossible to miss..!

Back to the driver's side, and an intake for a ventilation airbox..

Built June 1984, and in Australia ready for compliance in August that year...

Again; 117H over C23 a lovely combination.

The exhaust runs forward to a turbo mounted up behind the grille, does its job, and makes its way straight back past the manifold it had just left on its way to the tail-end of the car...

...meanwhile, in the cavity on the kerb-side of the engine-bay....

..and the IMPRESSIVELY clear (pun not intentional.. unless of-course it's funny...) fuse box. A transparent lid and SO clearly labelled..? It'd be a crime to run a single blown fuse...



..and seeing as though I'm finally out of pictures:
That's it. That's all. We're done. A dash of Sweden added to the repertoire...